The Real Life Iron Man

A UK inventor by the name of Richard Browning has made quantum leaps into producing an Iron Man exoskeleton.

The 40 year old male first tested the bonkers Daedalus Mk. 1 suit, as it is known, at his farmyard which resides in the Wiltshire countryside 2 years ago. The first test flight was a success. With 4 jet engines filled with kerosene strapped to his arms and 2 on his back, he was able to elevate himself for a just a quick second before abruptly landing back on earth. He found this to be a triumphant maiden flight.

Browning’s Iron Man start up, now labeled Gravity Industries, has fast tracked itself to the top of the human flight race – 9 months later and quite a number of iterations to the jet filled ensemble found Browning’s intuition had paid off. He had developed a helmet with a heads up display, just like Iron Man, that relayed vital information to him via a lens on the helmet. He also installed an in flight air bag system, WiFi data linkage, and he also used super advanced materials like graphene to reduce the weight of the outfit.

His inspiration is found through his father, who was an aeronautical engineer and inventor. He sadly passed away when Richard was 15 and has led him to the innovation that has seen him become an inventor himself. Previous to the Daedalus Mk. 1 exoskeleton endeavor, Browning had a successful career serving as a Royal Marine Reservist.

Gravity Industries describes itself as a “human propulsion technology start-up,” whose mission “is to re-imagine the future of manned flight.” Due to the nature of each suit needing to be made for each user, Richard has said that Gravity Industries will sell personalized suits for $250,000.

Speaking about the future of the company in April 2017, Browning said,

“Our beta suit, the Daedalus, could go into mass production next week; however we are spending the next 3-6 months extensively improving and updating everything. We see Q4 2017 as the point where we have a world class market leading technology, which has endless applications in commercial, military and entertainment market. It’s not just the suit in its current form that we will commercialize, but the technology behind it: brands who want to be part of the hundreds of millions of people who will want to see it in action and experience its development.”

Browning is still reiterating his suit: more flights, as often as he can manage, learning control, integrating improvements. Fulfilling an ancient dream: a fragile human body, and rising slowly into the air.